Starting a Hair Braiding Business

By Donald Michael Schwartz

Have you done a lot of hair braiding for friends? Have you expanded your portfolio of styles and built up your hair braiding speed? If you answered yes to the above questions, then might want to consider starting a hair braiding business. If your state allows it, you could start in your home; or you could start by leasing space or a chair in a salon. The hair braiding business can be quite lucrative, once you have built up your reputation and clientele. You will need to take the proper course or courses and then pass your licensing exams.

Job duties

When starting a hair braiding business you will need to find a space to operate out of. If the state or local government does not let you operate out of your home, then you will need to find a chair or a section in a salon to lease. You will need to decide which braiding styles you will offer and how much to charge for each of them. When doing this consider what your competition is charging. You should keep a client database so that you remember braiding information and personal details of returning clients. You will also need to know how to unbraid hair without damaging it. When starting a hair braiding business you will need to promote it. If you expand, you will need to hire qualified employees. You will also need to be sure you have all the necessary licenses, permits, and insurance coverage.

Where will you work?

When starting a hair braiding business you will work in areas where hair braiding is popular (it could be an urban area). Check to see how long the hair braiding shops have been in business in a locale. Has there been a steady growth of hair braiding services over the years? Survey salons without hair braiding services to see if they think their clients would like to have that type of service added to the salon.

Basic Costs

When starting a hair braiding business you will need to pay for the necessary licenses and permits. You will also have the cost of your space lease if you are not working from home. You will have to start out with a collection of tools and combs for your business. You will need a phone for making appointments. You should also have an appointment book.

Starting hair braiding business tips

Build your brand – you will need to promote your hair braiding business through social media, fliers and an ad campaign.

Promote through education – go to interested groups and organizations to offer talks about the latest in hair braiding styles and caring for braided hair. You can also talk about the advantages and disadvantages of hair braiding over other hair styling techniques.

Build up a portfolio of pictures of hair braiding styles – you could buy books with different hair braiding options pictured. You can also cut out pictures of celebrities in hair braids out of magazines and put them in a scrapbook.

Look for other profit points – have a collection of beads and ribbons to sell to your customers for the purpose of adorning their braids.

Consider specializing – you could specialize in your hair braiding services, i.e., opening up a hair braiding business for children.

Trends – Keep up with the latest trends in hair braiding.

Advertising a Hair Braiding Business

When starting a hair braiding business you can advertise through the following methods. You can test various forms of advertising to see which are the most effective for your business in your location. Keep the advertising methods that are bringing you the highest return on investment.

Flyers– Determine if you can put up flyers in local grocery stores, parks, bakeries, beauty stores, daycares, community centers, and more. It is best to ask the owner of these businesses for permission first. Also hand out flyers to passer byes on the street.

Website– You can decide to develop a website to provide clients with access to general information about your hair braiding services such as rates and styles.

Social Media Sites– Take advantage of social media sites such as twitter and facebook to promote your services.

Craigslist.com– You can use Craigslist.com to advertise your services.